Obviously, the very fact that you’re reading AppStorm makes you a pretty cool customer… But it’s hard to deny that there’s something wonderfully geeky about software. I’d be the first to admit that when I see a shiny new app appear from nowhere, my heart skips a beat. And it takes a certain type of person to get excited about the updated release of an FTP program.

So here’s a roundup for all our fellow geeks! Let’s take a look at a handful of Mac software that lets you tinker, dig a little deeper, and generally appreciate some of the technical aspects of your shiny Apple machine.

Using a computer is often all about events and communication. Changes are always occurring, data is being received, tracks are changing, and news is pushed to you. All of these events occur in a bunch of different applications, and each has a specific way of letting you know that something has happened. It could be a Dock badge, a popup window, or even an audible alert.

The problem with this setup is that, as a user, you’re constantly bombarded with notifications from different areas of your screen, grabbing your attention in different ways. Growl aims to solve this by providing a central system for managing events. It integrates with a huge range of apps to provide a single, simplified way to receive notifications.